Return to fathoms below
by HolyMaiden24
Summary: A very, very, very long overdue two-shot mini sequel to From Fathoms Below. Takes place both in the lead up to and after the ever after of the story.
1. Chapter 1

**People asked me to do a sequel and while I don't want to write a huge multi-chapter sequel, I did have some stories in my head that needed to get out sooner or later. It's only going to be just two chapters.**

* * *

It had been many weeks since the horrible storm that happened during the festival and since then the ocean had been calm, which was almost a record. Boats were free to be out on the ocean without fear of another storm happening, though some owners were still not convinced and were on high alert.

It had also been five days since the prince and princess of the kingdom upon the surface received a letter from the king under the ocean that also contained the only means to visit the underwater kingdom. It had taken some persuading with their father to be allowed to go, but he gave in and it was at a specific location at the base of the hill where his castle resided upon that they waited upon the rocks by the water.

Nearly half an hour later, a familiar figure emerged from the depths of the ocean and he found himself staring up at the king of the surface kingdom for the second time in his life.

Mason locked eyes with Benjamin and tightened his grip on the shoulders of his children–he did not forget what happened last time and he was still cautious of the mershark.

"Hi there." Lisa shyly, yet awkwardly waved at him. "Uh, nice to see you again."

"Thanks for letting us go visit." Billy tightened his hold on his bag.

Benjamin had no clue how to respond besides an awkward wave, though somewhere deep inside him a very small part was happy to see the two once more.

"I trust my children will return to me unharmed, yes?" Mason demanded to Benjamin. "I'm giving you one chance."

Benjamin flinched at this. "Yeah, I already told them that I don't want to have to deal with them getting captured again."

Mason scowled a little at this, but then he sighed and knelt beside Lisa and Billy. He gave them both a hug. "I'll watch for a little longer." He told them.

Both children nodded in understanding, then Lisa turned around and jumped into the water and her brother followed suit seconds later.

One part of Benjamin wanted to carry the both of them while the other was not comfortable with this as they came closer to him. The first part won over and both children found themselves getting scooped up and held against him with one arm while the other was used to swim as far out to the ocean as possible.

"So, I know it's supposed to be painful." Billy took a red bracelet out and examined it. "But I don't think dad'll want to see that. You can just take us as far as you can–uh, no need to do anything else."

"What do you mean 'anything else?'" Benjamin asked.

"He means you don't need to kiss us like you did with Edith." Lisa bluntly told him. This caused him to let go of them and he let out a series of strange stammering noises that were incredible to listen to. It was hard for the children to believe that this was once the same monster that almost took their friends away and while he was horrible looking back then, he just looked silly now. He finally recovered and scooped them back up, and all the while he began to grumble incoherent words as he resumed taking them out.

He didn't notice them looking carefully at him. They tried to look in his eyes to see if there was any trace of the other version of him that they knew the most–the one who was the complete opposite of him.

"By the way," Lisa spoke up after awhile. "I'm glad you're back to normal again."

Benjamin nearly froze at this and stared at the two. He had no clue what to say to that–it wasn't something he was always ready to be open about.

"This is fine." Billy turned to see that they were quite a ways away from Mason and they could barely see him. Lisa took her bracelet out and Billy nervously stared at his–he saw first hand what the change was like for someone and he knew it was going to be like that for him and Lisa. He took a deep breath and put it on, and Lisa followed suit.

What followed was an immense pain in the lower halves of both children and while Billy grabbed onto Benjamin's arm and ended up digging his nails into the adult's flesh, Lisa began to sink into the ocean and without even thinking twice, Benjamin grabbed the child and hugged her against him before she could accidentally drown. He was forced to watch both children try so hard to not scream as they tightened their hold on him.

The sympathetic side that had been lost to him for ten years agonized over this and wanted to take away their pain. He knew what they were going through... The boys went through this almost every day because of him–

 _Don't think about that._

They were so tiny–tiny trembling figures in his huge grasp–but soon they calmed down and ceased their shaking. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked them.

"I didn't think it would hurt so much." Billy whimpered. "Is that what George and Harold had to go through all the time?"

They were going to have a new reason to hate him, weren't they? "I guess, but..." Benjamin looked at them when they looked at him. "At least your teeth don't change like mine do." He let out a weak laugh and an awkward smile that revealed the shark-like teeth. It was a bad attempt to reassure them and he knew it–they weren't laughing.

"I want to see!" Lisa moved away from Benjamin and he watched as the two sank into the water–curious to see how they looked now.

 _This is so stupid. These kids should be afraid of me, not the other way around._

 _I want to show them everything!_

 _It was easier when I didn't have to deal with this._

 _George and Harold will be happy to see them again! Wait a minute, I promised to keep an eye on them!_

Benjamin sank into the water to see the newly transformed children, who were both laughing with delight as they embraced the changes and their newfound ability to breathe under water. The young princess now had a tail of a combination of brilliant red, yellow, and orange, and blue, while her brother's was silver with traces of yellow, orange, and black. Billy had already taken his shirt off at some point, but Lisa firmly kept her's on, which was flaring up a little under the water.

"Hey I don't need these anymore!" Billy took his glasses off and stared at them in surprise.

"This is amazing!" Lisa squealed with delight. She turned to the adult and tried to swim to him, but her body didn't respond as it normally should have and all she could do was wiggle in place and flail her arms around. "Uh," She now had an embarrassed grimace. "Maybe not that part." She nervously looked at Benjamin. "Um, could you teach us how to swim please? We don't really know how. At least not like this." Even her brother gave him a pleading look.

The compassionate side won over once more and Benjamin held his hand out. "Yeah, I guess it would look weird if you weren't swimming like everyone else."

* * *

The lesson was quick, though he still had to keep a hold on the two upon returning to the kingdom since it was still difficult for them to swim long distance and they had as much grace as an awkward crab that kept walking sideways. Eventually they came upon the kingdom and Benjamin watched from the corner of his eye as the two stared in awe at the place and absorbed everything they could. How could they see such a mundane place as if it were the most wonderful place in the world? Then again this was a places of fairy tales to most human children. It made him wonder if that was how he looked when he came into their world, and once again that small part of him buried deep within was delighted and wanted to show them everything. He had to force it down because he knew that he couldn't exactly do that and so he took them to the castle.

He let go of the two when he got close enough and lead them in. He ignored the curious eyes of the staff and visitors who were wondering who the heck the two children were and why were they with the king without appearing afraid or uncomfortable around him–some of them gave him distrustful looks while others found the children staring right back at them. Eventually he came upon who he was looking for–both Grace and Moses were discussing things in the throne room. He coughed to get their attention and they turned to face him.

"Um, look you're among the only few who'll keep their mouths shut about this." Benjamin began before gesturing to Lisa and Billy. "These two are the children of the king from the surface world."

The two adults stared at the children in confusion at first, but when they saw the bracelets upon their wrists, they were stunned. "You actually gave them those bracelets?" Grace asked. "I thought you had those–"

"Look, I don't know how exactly to make things easier between our kingdom and theirs, but they're the only two I can trust to represent the surface. Also, they know your sons."

Billy gasped at this, as did Lisa. "You're George and Harold's–?" He began and then it hit the parents as to who the two children were. In fact, he could easily see the resemblance between both adults and their respective sons.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you at last." Grace smiled back at the boy.

"We owe you and your father for watching over the boys." Moses also smiled. "They've talked a lot about your world, but especially about you two. You've meant a lot to them, Your Highnesses."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you too!" Lisa smiled. "You can just call us Lisa and Billy. No need to be formal... uh, Mrs. Hutchins and Mr. Beard?"

"Of course." Grace chuckled a little. "In fact, have you had a chance to visit them yet?" When they both shook their heads, she held her hands out. "Well perhaps I can take you to the school myself–unless–" she looked up at her king. "Unless someone else wanted to go if they weren't busy?"

A part of Benjamin was screaming at him to do it–to reunite the friends once more and see their reactions–but then something was triggered in his memories. Children cowering in fear at him–losing all control as he yelled at those girls before turning his anger on the boys–the yelling, the threats, the–

To Lisa and Billy's confusion, the mershark looked like he was going to be ill and he quickly swam away from them and went elsewhere.

"What was that all about?" Billy asked a concerned Grace and Moses.

Moses let out a sigh. "It's probably not our business to talk about it."

* * *

"So this is a school for merchildren." Lisa glanced around in awe. It wasn't anything like the school she and Billy went to, but it was noticeably a bit more bare in comparison to theirs–there wasn't as many artwork or trophies on display for one thing. "I didn't think they'd have schools for merfolk at all."

"George and Harold said they went to a school, remember?" Billy replied before frowning. "Or at least I think they said so."

"Well, we got to keep looking for them." Lisa looked at the doors. "Now which one was it again?"

Meanwhile in the room in question, George and Harold were trying and failing to listen to another history lesson from Ribble and they were bored out of their minds. They shot each other knowing looks as they waited for the moment that freedom could be delivered so that they could hurry off to make comic books. Despite all the danger they had to endure during their adventure to the surface awhile ago, the merorca and the merdolphin still preferred it to the never ending boredom that was the classroom.

"Ugh," Harold ended up smacking his face into the desk, causing other kids to look back at him.

George hummed as he looked at Ribble and pretended that her hair was made out of seaweed for ugly looking fish to swim through. It made him smirk a little, but it wasn't helping his creative juices for his brain.

The door opened, causing some kids to turn their heads to see two young merchildren that they had never seen before. This caused Ribble to stop mid-lecture and turn to them with a sharp "Hey, can't you see we're busy right now?"

"Uh, is George and Harold here?" Billy finally asked as Lisa turned her head to see the two.

At that exact moment, both boys looked up and when they saw Lisa and Billy, they froze and dropped their jaws in shock.

"Hi!" Lisa waved before Ribble could make a retort.

In the span of about three seconds, both the merdolphin and merorca lit up with joy, torpedoed their way through the room, and crashed into the royal siblings with huge embraces ready for them.

"It's you!" Harold grinned as he tightly hugged Billy.

"You're here!" George laughed as he nearly squeezed Lisa to death.

"Hey, now's not the time to hang out with classmates!" Ribble snapped, but she went ignored as the young ones reunited.

"It's so good to see you again!" Lisa cried as she hugged George back.

"We missed you so much!" Billy told Harold. "You have no idea how much we wanted to see you again!"

"Did you hear me?!" Ribble demanded as the others grew increasingly confused. Who were the other two merchildren that the boys seemed to know?

"Wait a minute." It then hit the boys as George said it first. "How are you down–?!" He let go of Lisa and looked her over again as Harold did the same with Billy. When they saw the obvious physical signs that something was completely different about their appearances, they were stunned. The expressions on their face of wide eyes and open mouths were almost amusing as the realization kicked in.

"How–?" Harold stammered as he pointed to Billy's tail. "How did you get a–?"

"IF YOU TWO DON'T SIT YOUR BEHINDS BACK DOWN AND IF YOU TWO DON'T GO BACK TO YOUR CLASS, I'LL DRAG YOU BACK BY YOUR TAILS MYSELF!"

* * *

When playtime came, George and Harold had many questions to ask the royal siblings, and yet they couldn't help but show them off to the other students. Even Heidi was brought over to see the two again.

"Hey guys, these are Lisa and Billy!" George gestured to the siblings, who stared in wonder at the other merchildren. "They're good friends of ours!"

"Yeah, let's show them how fun things can be under the sea!" Harold added with a grin.

"Wait a minute!" Keisha immediately recognized the siblings as did her sister. "Those are two of the human kids from up above, aren't they?!"

An awkward silence fell amongst them.

"Well yeah," Billy nervously laughed as Lisa wrung her hands. "I guess we are."

"But don't tell anyone that, ok guys?" Harold pleaded. "They want to be able to blend in and not get in trouble! We want them to be able to visit again!"

"Yeah, so don't let anyone know!" George added. "Especially Melvin!" He glanced around to see that the red head was some distance away, but he was not in hearing shot.

"That's fine." One merchild nodded his head.

"We won't tell, your Highnesses!" Kira shyly added.

"Aw, just call us Lisa and Billy!" Lisa pleaded. "None of the fancy titles, ok?"

"What's it like visiting the ocean for the first time?" One merboy asked.

"It's amazing!" Billy grinned.

"Is it easier to have legs or to have a tail?" Another asked.

"At this point I'd say legs, but we haven't been merfolk that long." Lisa admitted.

"Have George and Harold ever had to kiss you to keep you from drowning?" Heidi asked.

"EWW!" Many children were grossed out as George and Harold shuddered and stuck their tongue out while Lisa and Billy were startled.

"No, that never happened." Lisa admitted as Billy blushed. "Absolutely not!"

"Oh, well it would have been ok if they did." Heidi shrugged.

"Hey, you want to play with us?" A mergirl asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, we're still trying to learn how to–hey!" Billy found Harold pulling him by the arm towards the others.

"Come on, time to have some fun!" Harold told him.

"Yeah come on!" George grinned as he lead Lisa to the others.

* * *

Of course, they didn't stop at just the waters of the school. After school was over, George and Harold took the royal siblings to as many of their favorite places as they could.

"Go ahead and leave a message or a drawing!" The two grinned as they gestured to a rock with a bunch of graffiti, including romantic messages, silly doodles, and rude messages.

* * *

"Ok!" Lisa grinned as she and Billy took the colored algae from the boys and began to paint.

"This is amazing!" Billy laughed in delight as he held onto Serenity's dorsal fin as the others watched on.

George was a little scared of the excited smile on Harold's face as he watched the prince ride his dolphin. "Uh, hey are you ok?" Lisa asked him.

"Harold wouldn't ditch me for your brother, would he? Once he meets someone who likes dolphins, he'll never leave them alone."

Lisa looked back at Billy and Serenity. "Well, on the bright side, we won't be down here forever."

* * *

"Oh how pretty!" Lisa cooed at the beautiful colorful flowers that swayed in the water while the boys looked at things that were less girly and more of their liking nearby (which was actually some pretty ugly looking fish). "Oh!" Lisa gasped as a seahorse swam her way. "Oh, you're so cute!" She squealed, but didn't dare get to close.

The seas horse drifted close to her and, before she knew it, it lightly kissed her on the cheek.

The princess couldn't take it anymore and fell over with delight. "I love being down here!" She held her cheeks as the seahorse swam off. "I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!"

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Billy asked as they all gathered around a strange door with a sign on it.

"What do you think it is?" George asked as he and Harold snickered.

Billy and Lisa stared long and hard at the door for awhile more until it hit Billy. "You mean–is it–?!" A huge excited smile grew on his face.

"Yup, we have bathrooms down here."

Billy proceeded to rush in.

A few seconds later, there was a delighted "I KNEW IT! Wait a minute, then where does it all go?! Wait a minute... how does it all stay down?!... Wait never mind, I can see how now!"

* * *

"So that's where you found the ring?" Lisa gave the valley of rock formations a nervous look as she and the others looked down into it.

"Yeah," Harold confirmed as he and George shared a look. "Man, that was a long time ago. All we were going to do was explore this area."

"Instead we found the ring." George added.

"Then we almost became those eel's snacks."

"That whole visit changed everything!"

"Well I am not going down there!" Billy backed away. "I don't want to almost die again!"

"Yeah, neither do we." George grimaced. As if on cue, there was a roaring sound from down below.

"Let's get out of here!" Harold grabbed Billy's arm and made a swim for it, as did George with Lisa, and none of them intended on stopping.

("DANG KIDS!") The eel that saw them roared. ("THINKIN' YOU CAN JUST MESS AROUND AND BE FUNNY! NEXT TIME YOU COME BACK AS STUPID TEENAGERS TRYING TO IMPRESS YOU'RE FRIENDS, YOU'LL BE INSIDE US! AS MEALS!")

* * *

"Wow!" Lisa and Billy were impressed by the things Harold and George gathered across the years in their small grotto.

"Yep–our home away from home!" George grinned as he had an arm around Harold. "Every human thing we found always went here. We always tried to imagine what half of these things were used for." He pointed to a toilet seat. "We had no clue what that was for!" He laughed. "I can't believe we thought it was a treasure!"

"This is also where we make our comics!" Harold added as he gestured to the art and writing supplies. "We always did them in secret here, but ever since we returned, we could work on them back home now."

"We still kind of prefer working on them here. It's kind of hard to get used to the changes; it just doesn't feel right if it's anywhere but here."

"It'd be nice to read your other comics!" Billy noticed a comic on a shelf and picked it up. "I still can't believe you guys have special paper to use under water!"

For a good half hour, the boys shared their stories about their findings to the siblings, which each story having its own unique twists and turns, as they allowed the two to look and play with everything.

At one point, Lisa was looking through the comics when something caught her eye–a drawing of a familiar adult in just a cape and underpants. It looked very recent and she picked it up to quietly examine it–carefully tracing his outlines with her fingers–as the boys chatted with Billy over one of their comics. The huge, eager smile he had was all too painfully familiar.

"You really miss him." They turned to see her lifting up the drawing of Captain Underpants as she save them a knowing, yet sad look.

The excitement in George and Harold's eyes faded as Billy looked at them and quickly understood what was going on. One look at the drawing and all they could think of was the strange, yet funny adult who was also so sweet and quick to protect them when they needed it.

"Yeah," George quietly admitted. "We do."

"Well, he's still here in a way," Harold added. "It's just... not the same."

"It's better that Kr–that Benjamin is whole again and all." George corrected himself. "Sometimes he comes out a bit, but not always. Not enough." He sighed as he remembered that hug from before, when Benjamin was trying to reach out, but then lost his courage and moved away. "When it happens, it feels like him, but it's not."

"We're trying to accept him as he is now." George added. "But..." His voice trailed off.

"Well there's got to be a way to try to make it right." Billy told them as Lisa thought. "There's got to be something that you can do with him, right?"

"Actually..." Lisa noticed the flyer for the boardwalk as it reminded her of something. "There is something you should do for him. And we can help you."

* * *

Benjamin stared at the small red ring in his hand as he sat on his bed. Out of habit, he wanted some alone time, so he once again ditched the adornments and toupee and just stared at the ring in his hand.

To think that such a simple thing had been both a final reminder of the last time he was truly happy as well as his own prison. What could of happened if he hadn't have locked those emotions away? How could he have known that he would of accidentally created second version of himself?

If he hadn't, maybe he wouldn't have dreaded going anywhere near that school again.

Why did he suddenly get so sick at the mere memory of that day? It never did before–there was a time he took more than just satisfaction in it– then suddenly the sickness grew, even though he wasn't seriously ill. Something that once made him overwhelmed with happy relief now made him feel disgusted with himself.

 _How could you?!_ A voice howled inside his head when he remembered earlier. _How could you do that to them?!_ Then without warning, something inside him forced him remember something that was both a past memory and yet the memory of another.

" _He was yelling at us and told us our comics were a waste of time, and then he ripped it up in our faces." George recalled and Harold flinched in his hold, on that night they finally revealed what their secret mission was. "He was so awful–all the kids were terrified of him. We couldn't do anything or say anything ourselves–we were terrified and it was–" The boy took a deep breath as he himself felt his anger steadily rising at whoever this king was that put the two through so much. "It was the worst moment of our lives."_

He couldn't go back to that school. Not when he had that memory firmly tied to it.

This was one of the reasons why he hated being whole again–he hated the immense feeling of guilt and anger directed at himself. Every day since he allowed himself to become whole, he always had something to feel guilty about. At least he didn't have to care when he was–

"Hi!" George waved as he and Harold were positioned right in front of Benjamin.

The surprised adult let out a terrific scream as he flung his arms back and collapsed onto his back on the bed at the unexpected appearance of the two. The moment he was able to quickly shoot back up, the merboys were greeted with a hilarious sight of their king being pale faced with terror.

"H–how–how did you–?!" Benjamin stammered as he pointed to George, then to Harold, then back again. "H–WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM?!" He snapped.

"You left your window open." George merely stated.

"WHAT'DYA MEAN, 'I LEFT MY WINDOW OPEN?!' HOW DID–?!"

"You left your window open!" Harold jabbed a thumb and sure enough, Lisa and Billy were hanging from an open window near the bed.

"Hi again!" Billy waved as he rested on top of Lisa.

"Don't mind us!" Lisa added. "Our arms hurt from all the swimming. Can we just rest here for a bit?"

Benjamin looked at the kids that were both in his room and almost in his room. On one hand he didn't want anyone in here (let alone children, the less pleasant side of him was reminding him). On the other, he wondered how in the heck he missed that he left a window open.

"So," George began "We actually wanted to thank you."

"Huh?" Benjamin was not expecting that. "For what?"

"For giving those bracelets to Lisa and Billy." Harold explained. "They got to see our world and we can play with them again."

"Yeah, thanks!" George grinned. "We got to have a lot of fun today."

"Well not with the part where we saw the e–OW!" Billy was lightly hit on the arm by Lisa before he could reveal the danger they got close to.

"Uh... you're welcome, I guess?" Benjamin was not used to hearing words of gratitude for him (not completely), so that part really surprised him.

"Anyway, there's another reason why we're here." Harold continued. "We want to give you a second chance–we want to help you see Edith again."

"Yeah, as a whole person." George added. "Not as a monster or as a guy in just his underwear. We want her to see the real you again–"

"–and help you get another chance to tell her how you really feel." Harold added. "No swimming away this time–you owe it to her."

At this, Benjamin froze up.

These two... wanted to help him... _really?!_

"That's some kind of joke, right?" He snorted. "You two think you can help me with something way beyond what you know about? Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Well we know why you split yourself up in the first place." George frowned.

"And you'd be very surprised." Harold added. "You still love her, don't you?"

Benjamin didn't respond.

It had been too long, but now he remembered why he loved her. For her kindness, her patience, her determination... for her laughter, for her voice... for those beautiful bright blue eyes he could never forget no matter how hard he could try. He wanted so badly to see her again... to hold her hand again and to feel her touch... seeing her once more for just one day wasn't enough for him.

"You mentioned something about wanting to see her again in the letter." Billy reminded him.

"You know, she said that not even the ocean would stop her from coming to see you." Harold added. "And if Lisa and Billy's bracelets somehow found their way to her..." He hinted. "Well, I'm sure she'd be happy to be down here with you too."

"Yeah, it'd be neat to see what she'd look like as a merfolk." Lisa joined in and smiled. "I bet she'd look really pretty."

The kids watched as the great mershark let that sink in. What they were not expecting was for his face to slowly turn red as his eyes widened and his mouth almost looked like a wiggly line.

"Why's he blushing?" George asked. "She'd just be down here and look like us."

Harold shrugged.

"So anyway, we were thinking that maybe we'd take you up to see her when you're ready." Billy added as Lisa (who was the only one who figured out why the adult was blushing) grinned a silly grin. This snapped Benjamin out of his thoughts.

"Wait–what–now–?! NO!" He protested and backed away.

"Oh come on, you owe her!" Lisa was frustrated. "Don't you want to see her again and–?!"

"I do! I mean–!" Benjamin tried to cover his blunder, but it was too late and he stammered. "I want–I mean I can't I–!" He mumbled something under his breath and huddled up as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"What was that?" George asked.

Benjamin mumbled a little louder as his brow furrowed.

"Sorry I–"

"I don't remember how to walk!" He finally snapped and threw his arms out. "There, happy?! You saw me humiliate myself in front of you while trying to get back to the ocean! I don't want her to see me crawling like that–!"

"Then we'll help you!" Harold promised. "It's not that hard if you have someone with you."

"Yeah, just find a moment in your schedule and we can go on up." Billy added with a smile. "Besides, don't you want a chance to go back up?"

* * *

The next day, the children, plus one grown mershark found themselves above the water when–

"Wait a minute!" Lisa panicked and looked at Benjamin. "You got something to wear when you change into a human, right?!"

"No, why?" Benjamin shot her a confused look.

It took two seconds for the kids to realize what mistake was about to be made... and two more for a very unwanted mental image to come into their minds as a result of that possible future mistake.

"NO!" George wailed and grabbed his head.

"AGH, MY EYES!" Harold screamed and held his head. "WHY WOULD YOU HAUNT ME WITH THAT PICTURE?!"

"EW, EW, EW, EW!" Lisa covered her eyes as Billy pulled a face.

"WHAT THE HECK HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU–?! Oh." It then hit Benjamin and he slapped his face at his stupidity.

* * *

Almost half an hour later, after finding a solution to prevent severe mental scarring, the kids had brought the mershark to a small cove near the beach that was hidden somewhere by the castle.

"Seriously?!" Benjamin looked around as all the kids were facing anywhere but towards him as they sat on the rocks.

"Just get it over with!" Lisa pleaded as she and her brother stayed on the rocks in their natural forms. Even George and Harold were in human forms and at the moment they wore the same human clothing they had taken with them upon returning back home after their adventure.

Benjamin sighed and put his own bracelet on.

Moments passed and through none of the children looked, they soon heard the effects of the transformation taking over the mershark. They heard him take a sharp breath of air before gasping and and letting out grunts of pain before they heard what sounded like him screaming into the water. It caused them to look as he desperately tried to stay upright in the water before lunging at the nearest rock and clinging onto it for dear life as he pressed his head against it. No matter how many times he had to go through with it, the pain within his entire body was so much and he ended up biting into his arm as he felt his teeth change.

Moments passed before he finally lost all tension in his body and slowly looked up and finally let out a sigh of relief that revealed a set of normal teeth in his mouth. Not the scary sharp teeth, but normal, blunt teeth that made him less scary and more average looking.

Benjamin finally let go–only to yelp when he found himself sinking.

"This shouldn't be too hard, right?" Lisa asked George and Harold as the adult in the water tried to flail his arms around him in a desperate attempt to stay up. "You guys went through this too."

"Yeah, but it's going to take a lot of trial and error." George admitted as Benjamin finally flung his arms around the rock and panted as he found himself able to stay upright.

"A lot of trial and error." Harold emphasized.

* * *

Moments later, they all were on a sandy part of the area. The lone adult was now dressed–or at least he was if wearing just a white shirt that remained unbuttoned and some underwear counted as being decent enough for the children to finally look at him.

"This is going to be stupid." Benjamin muttered under his breath as he tried to push himself off the ground and force his legs to straighten up, but it was all too sudden and he ended up toppling over. He tried again, but slower, and yet his legs gave away before he could lift himself up by a few inches.

It was like watching an egg with legs–you knew the thing was probably going to crack if it tried to support itself and failed one too many times.

 _*one minute later*_

"Ok, let's try this!" George and Harold tried to pull Benjamin up on his feet as the adult tried to lift himself up–only for the adult to collapse and land in the sand.

 _*one minute later*_

This time all four children tried to help him up and tried to get him to lean on the nearest child at his side, which happened to be Harold.

Unfortunately, not only was Harold too small too help support the much larger adult, but when he fell over, there was a scream as the boy was nearly crushed by his huge frame, causing the others to wince before they tried to roll Benjamin off of him.

 _*one minute later*_

"Ok, why not just crawl to that rock and try again?" Billy pointed to the nearest large rock that was much bigger than any of the kids.

"I'm not going to crawl to a rock!" Benjamin snapped.

"We won't look if that makes you uncomfortable." Lisa reassured him before turning around. "See?" The adult didn't dare do anything until he saw that every child wasn't facing him before he turned around and tried to lift himself off the ground.

Benjamin grunted as he struggled to push himself and dug his feet into the sand in an attempt to stand up, when he slipped and fell, he was forced to start over again. The second time he was more successful and tried to walk around the rock with shaking legs while clinging to the rock.

Moments later, he stepped on a broken shell and there was a loud scream of pain as he lost his footing, his knees hit the rock, and he fell over into the sand as the kids winced at the sound as they quickly turned around. They learned a lot of new curse words within the next few seconds thanks to the enraged adult.

 _*one minute later*_

"Ugh." Benjamin huffed in exhaustion as he flung his arms around the cow and tried to keep still–

"Wait a minute–a cow?!" Billy asked as the kids looked again, and sure enough, a very familiar cow somehow got on the beach.

"Why's there a cow on the beach?!" Lisa demanded. "When did the cow get here?! This doesn't make any sense!"

"Moo." The cow mooed and began to walk away, causing the adult holding onto it to slip.

"Wait, no, no, no, no–!" Benjamin frantically protested, but the cow kept going and he ended up face planting into the sand when he lost his hold on it.

 _*One minute later... uh... hmm...*_

When this attempt was thwarted by tripping over a noticeably large sized rock, Benjamin was enraged enough to grab the rock and hurl it as far as he could.

Moments later, said rock–which had been hurled in the direction of the town–crashed through the glass window of a store, causing a nearby woman to drop her bags and scream, a young woman who was reading to flinch and stare at the window in shock, and a man ducked and screamed "OH NO, IT'S THE APOCALYPSE! I WARNED YOU ALL BUT YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!"

 _*One minute later–you're getting sick of this gag, aren't you?*_

This time after Benjamin walked around the rock while clinging to it, he tried to force himself off of it and walked across the sand, but he only made a few steps before falling over once more.

"That's it, I'm getting sick of this!" He yelled as he looked up and slammed a fist in the sand and sent some of it flying outward in the process.

"Come on, you're getting there!" George pleaded as he and Harold hurried to try to help Benjamin up again.

"Yeah, you were able to get it once, you can do it again!" Harold tried to reassure him.

"Look, it's not going to work, ok?!" Benjamin was frustrated. "I'm not ten years younger and I'm not small like you two! I can't support myself anymore!"

"It is going to work!" George tried to promise him. "It wasn't easy for us either, but you'll get it! You just have to believe and let us–!"

"YOU THINK I'M OK WITH HUMILIATING MYSELF IN FRONT OF YOU TWO?!" The adult snapped at them as his scowl deepened. "I KNOW YOU'RE ENJOYING WATCHING THIS!"

"No we aren't!" Harold protested.

"NO, GO AHEAD AND LET IT OUT! JUST GET IT OVER WITH SO I CAN LEAVE AND FORGET THIS WHOLE THING!"

"Hey they're just trying to help you!" Lisa angrily protested as she stepped forward.

"WELL MAYBE THAT WORKED FOR THE DUMB IDIOT YOU ALL LIKE MORE, BUT I'M NOT HIM! I KNOW YOU WANT TO LAUGH OVER ME MAKING A FOOL OF MYSELF AGAIN, SO GET IT OVER WITH!" Benjamin glared as he starred down at George and Harold, daring them to laugh like they did on the pier when he had to humiliate himself in trying to capture them.

What he did not expect was for the boys to go completely quiet. Their faces fell as they looked as if someone close to them had died.

George made as if to say something, but then shook his head and grabbed Harold's hand before quickly leading him away from the adult, who was confused by the reaction.

"Should we–?" Billy quietly asked Lisa, who shook her head and walked off in another direction.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Benjamin demanded. "Why are you–?!"

"If Captain Underpants is really supposed to be a part of you, then you wouldn't have said that." Billy quietly told him. "You would have known better." He hurried after his sister as Benjamin looked from them to George and Harold. The second he saw the two boys, a strong pain that he was not prepared for shot through his heart.

"Guys, wait–!" He made to reach out to them and was about to get up, but then he stopped himself.

What was he doing?

Why was he thinking that he could ever be something he wasn't? Again?

Why was he feeling another bout of guilt that suddenly felt worse than any other time he felt it since he became whole again?

* * *

"What if this doesn't work?" George asked Harold as they wandered through the beach and turned down one direction near a cliff.

"It's been one day." Harold pointed out. "We can't just give up on him."

"I know, but what if he gives up? What if he ends up doing what he did again and we get Krupp back?" George nervously asked. "He never gave up as Captain Underpants!"

"Well then maybe we need to remind him!"

"Yeah, but what if he barely remembers? He barely remembered last time! You know how he tried to hug us! It wasn't the same!"

"If he doesn't believe us, he'll give up and he probably won't even bother seeing Edith again. He doesn't even believe in himself." Harold reminded George. "Now matter how crazy it all would have been a few months ago, we got to keep helping him."

"Yeah, but he's not believing in us anymore." George was upset. "He did, but now that–" He sighed. "I don't know. I just wish he trusted us more, but we're getting our hopes up."

The boys wandered for a bit, but little did they realize what was approaching them from behind.

"You know what?" Harold asked. "What if we tried something different? Maybe get him back in the water and have him try to–MPH?!" Before Harold could finish, a hand clamped around his mouth.

* * *

"Wait, why are we still here?" Lisa asked Billy–it turned out that they had not left the area and they were only a slight distance away from Benjamin.

"Because if dad found out we were on our own up here, he'd kill Benjamin and then ground us." Billy admitted.

Benjamin sighed as he still sat in the sand by the large rock and stared down at the bracelet. He kept telling himself he wasn't George and Harold's friend–he never was. If someone had asked him that awhile ago, he'd laugh in their face before angrily snapping at them to leave. Yet one half of him was wanting to go back to something that felt personal and not quite and wanted to try again, but he had no clue how. How could he if he had also hated them for almost their entire lives?

He lost his temper again and if he couldn't handle it now when around them then...

What if he couldn't manage it when he was with Edith? What if the other side to him won out and he went back to how he was in the last ten years? What if he couldn't truly change and he wasn't a balanced person? He didn't feel like it if the two sides of him kept fighting against each other, especially when it came to interacting with others.

"You aren't leaving those children alone while you're supposed to be watching them, are you?"

Benjamin let out a scream and flopped around in the sand at the unexpected voice. He turned around to see a woman sitting on the rock behind him–she stared at him with a thoughtful gaze in her purple eyes while her black hair was tied up into a stylish bun.

Both Lisa and Billy turned their heads in confusion and were very much surprised to see a face that they were not expecting. "Wait, isn't that–?!" Lisa gapped.

"Wh–what the–?!" Benjamin gapped at the woman.

"It's so wonderful to see you as you should be, Benjamin." She gave him a kind smile. "It took ten years for you to make the change, and in the end it was those two boys that helped you when you needed it the most."

"How do you know my–wait, who are you?!" Benjamin shot her a suspicious glare.

"I'm known as Madame Miyuki, and I know who you are, king under the ocean." She confessed. "To humans, I am but a mere fortune teller, but I don't need my powers to see that you are coming a long way from who you were these past ten years."

"So basically, you're making money lying to people."

Madame Miyuki shot him an offended look. "I wouldn't call it lying if I had revealed your past to George and Harold, including the bond you once had with your mother, your harsh upbringing, and as well as the fact that the way you met Edith was not so different to the struggles you were facing just now." She had a satisfied smirk when she saw the look of disbelief on his face. "So no, I'm not lying. I told them how it was that only they could see your other half–there was a reason only children who were good of heart could see you, Captain."

This startled him as an interest in her increased. "Wait–I'm sorry–wait I think they said that–why?" He asked. "Why _children?_ "

"Because spirits of air are tasked with helping children. And given your view on them before these past few weeks, it's fittingly ironic." Madame Miyuki got off the rock and knelt beside Benjamin. "Especially given that a part of you was misjudging those two and was refusing to truly see them–I'm not here to start a fight with you." Madame Miyuki held up a warning finger the second she saw Benjamin flash an angry glare at her. "I want to check in with your other side–I know you're in there, and I know you're trying to mend yourself back together in both mind and spirit, but it isn't easy, isn't it?"

"I know you are struggling with letting yourself come out. Especially to those you care about. It's because of those boys that you can still love again." She smiled as she pointed at his heart. "It's because of them and the love that you are capable of giving that allowed their hero to become real. George and Harold still care about you–they cared about you as their hero and they grew to care about you as the monster, and now they care about you as who you truly are. You know they do, but you need to have a little more faith and patience. I know you've suffered and you're frustrated Benjamin, but you are doing a lot better right now. You cannot give up on yourself and certainly not on them or the others who are trying to help you."

There was a silence between the two and the only sound was that of the waves rising out towards the sands before falling back to the ocean.

"What makes you think I can be anything like him–like something I can't be anymore?" Benjamin quietly asked. "I can't just make myself not angry–"

"Don't." Madame Miyuki shook her head. "You are thinking about this the wrong way. They tried to tell you to switch it off, but they never told you to try to channel that anger through an outlet. They never told you how to control the storms, when all you needed was to direct them out through something more productive. But it's ok to be flawed Benjamin–nothing is supposed to be perfect. You don't have to be exactly like their hero, but you'll want to prove to those boys that you are still worthy of having had that identity be a part of who you are. You need to remind them that he's been here with them this whole time, if only you just open your heart a bit more and believe in others as well as yourself." She held her hand out. "You are a man worthy of being loved, Benjamin. You just need to open your heart and learn to trust."

Benjamin stared at Madame Miyuki's hand before slowly accepting it. The fortune teller looked down and smiled as if something pleasant crossed her mind at the instant they touched.

Then a troubled frown and a flash of terror shone in her eyes.

"You have to get back to the cove." She told him. "The boys are in danger."

"What?"

"The boys were tied up to a sinking boat and they won't be able to get the bracelets off!" She hurriedly told him. "And then there's a monster–They're going to drown if you don't do something!"

In that instant, something within Benjamin fully believed the fortune teller as a large panic overtook him.

 _George and Harold were in–!_

No. Not again. _Never again._

Lisa and Billy watched on–unsure as to what the fortune teller told Benjamin–but they were not expecting him to suddenly scramble up on his feet again and start running like he was about to lose something if he didn't make it in time. As if he hadn't been continuously falling down from trying to walk not that long ago. Sure he was stumbling about the place in the process and looked as if he was going to fall over but he was actually running as fast as he could force himself to.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Lisa cried out as she and Billy scrambled to get up and hurry after the adult while the fortune teller watched on in silence.

* * *

Somewhere in a small cave, the boys found themselves tied up on a small, beaten up boat that had seen better days as it floated on the water. There was a huge log that was blocking the boat from leaving the cave and the only other way out of the cave required climbing rocks that were too slippery with plant life and gunk on the parts that were submerged under water and they had nothing else to grab onto.

"Oh great, those two again." George groaned as he and Harold looked up to see a familiar pair of twins who were accompanied by two big teenaged boys.

"You didn't think we'd forget the humiliation you put us through, did you?!" Stacy sneered as she bent down to get a better look at the boys. "You ruined our fun with our favorite flower!"

"Luckily our cousins were in town to have some fun!" Jack grinned as he jabbed a thumb at the two teens, who looked to be the kind who were probably struggling with the academics of school life because they didn't actually care about their grades, and they looked just as malicious as the twins.

"Look, if you know what's good for you, you should probably get us out of here as fast as you can!" Harold warned. "Our friend isn't going to be happy when he finds out what happened, and trust me, you don't want to get him mad!"

"Yeah, if he doesn't get mad at us first!" George added.

Stacy threw her head back and laughed. "Oh yeah?! And who would that be?! The president?!"

"You two have fun down there!" Jack crackled as he made to leave. "Oh don't worry, we'll get you out of there when the sun sets! Just spend a few hours and think about what might happen the next time you pull one on us again!"

"He's serious, get us out of here or else!" George pleaded, but the bullies above paid no heed and left while laughing their heads off. One by one, they squeezed out of the narrow opening and hurried away.

"I really want to see Krupp blow up at another kid for a change." Harold admitted when they were gone. "Like, for once I want to see it–they deserve it."

George sighed as he looked down. "Uh, did they know that this boat has holes?" Harold looked down–sure enough, there was water quickly leaking through several holes in the boat and it was already past their ankles. They instantly knew what was going to happen if they remained on the boat for too long.

"We can't swim as humans!" George panicked. "We never learned how!"

"Oh no." Harold gulped before it hit him. "Wait a minute! Why are we afraid?! We can just take our bracelets off!"

"Oh yeah!" George laughed. "You're–!" He cut himself short when he and Harold looked down to see that there were ropes tied around their wrists and the ropes were also tied to two circular rope cleats on the middle of the boat. To make matters worse, the ropes were wrapped around both bracelets to the point that they could not be slipped off.

"Oh no." George grabbed the bracelet and began to pull at it, but it would not budge as its magic kept it from breaking apart. "Oh no, no, no!"

"HELP!" Harold screamed as he tried to pull his own bracelet off. "SOMEONE HELP!"

"HELP!" George screamed. All the while, neither boy noticed the sea creature that picked up their smell and was beginning to head towards their direction.

"COME BACK!" Harold screamed. "WE'RE GOING TO DROWN!"

"HELP!" George screamed as the water was now inching up their calves.

"NGH!" Harold had tried to bite at his ropes, but with little success. "This isn't going to work!"

"HELP!"

"What if the water isn't as deep as we think?!" Harold asked. "Maybe we could flip the boat over and–!"

"That won't work, we probably wouldn't be able to reach the surface!" George panicked. "I didn't think we'd die by drowning!"

There was an ominous growling sound outside that made both boys stop what they were doing. They slowly looked up to see a couple of black tendrils of some sort of creature latching itself onto the log.

"Or by whatever that thing is!" Harold panicked. "HELP!" He screamed.

"HELP!" George screamed again. He screamed even more when the creature began pulling at the log.

"GET AWAY!" Harold screamed as he tried to splash water at the creature with his free hand but the splash of water didn't reach it.

By this point, their voices were able to escape the confines of the small cave and it could be heard from outside. Someone had heard it and the moment he saw what was about to happen on the outside, he ripped his own bracelet off and jumped into the waters below.

"George!" Harold panicked. "We have to do something!"

"What else can we do?!" George pleaded as he turned to look at the monster, which revealed itself to be some sort of huge octopus that was three times their size when it peered over the log. Judging by how it narrowed its beady yellow eyes and let out an ominous growling sound, it was clearly not a friendly beast.

George screamed when he saw that the creature made its way to reach a tentacle out beyond the log at the boys, and the boy hugged Harold as best as he could with his free arm. "HELP!"

Harold was the next to scream when both boys heard a creaking sound from the log as the beast struggled to pull it free. "SOMEONE HELP!"

Then without warning, a huge hand grabbed the octopus by the back of its head and it did it hard enough that the octopus' eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets. The boys then heard another animalistic sound, but this one sounded a bit too familiar and a lot more angrier.

"GET OFF!" Benjamin growled as he tugged at the octopus. "YOU STUPID–!" The octopus would not yield, forcing him to open his mouth and bite down on it as hard as he could with his sharp teeth, making it cry out and let go of the log. Finally he was able to rip it free, but then it latched onto him and suddenly he was dragged down under the water.

"What's happening?!" Harold asked as he and George heard loud splashing noises. Neither of them could see what was going on beyond water splashing upward.

"If I had to make a guess, probably something no kid should watch." George admitted as they both heard an awful shrieking sound.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Billy (who finally caught up) were watching on in horror at what was happening.

"Oh–ugh!" Billy winced and slapped his hands over his eyes.

Lisa made an uncomfortable sound and looked away.

Finally after several moments, Benjamin remerged and with one good throw of the arm he sent the beast flying through the air before it crashed into the waves, which sent it farther away from the area.

Benjamin then turned back to see the two boys who were staring at him in disbelief as well as the fact that the water was inching up to their knees. Without even hesitating, he then turned his attention to the log and, to the surprise of both boys, he literally punched down on it, causing it to snap in half and made them jolt in their seats.

What happened next was almost too fast for either boy as the mershark charged into the cave and went towards them while shoving both halves of the log out of the way. When he saw the ropes that trapped the boys to the boat, he tipped the thing over to the point that both boys had to hang onto it for dear life as he leaned over to tear the ropes in half. Even before they knew that they were free, George and Harold found themselves tumbling into the water before getting scooped up into one arm and Benjamin held them tightly against his body as he swam back out.

Benjamin didn't stop until he was a good distance away from the cave, and at point Lisa and Billy were nervously watching from down below.

Benjamin took one look at the two boys, who nervously looked up at him. They had no clue how he was going to react after what just happened–they fully expected him to get angry and yell at them.

"Uh," Harold gulped as he and George dreaded his reaction.

Instead there was a lingering panic in Benjamin's eyes before he hugged them as tightly as he could and bowed his head between their shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," He whispered. "I'm so sorry, guys. I should have–I'm sorry."

The boys were not expecting this–not his apologies, nor the hug which felt familiar.

"Ben–" Harold began, but then hesitated before asking "Captain?"

The adult's only response to that was to hug them tighter in a way that felt very familiar.

"Look, it's not your fault, we didn't know that was going to happen!" George tried to tell him. "We didn't–!" He gave up and ended up hugging the adult back. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks." Harold added as he also hugged the adult back.

Lisa and Billy silently watched the three in the water. Neither of them dared say anything for a moment–any doubt that the hero was still in Benjamin was gradually vanishing.

"You know, for a guy that has a hard time walking," Lisa finally spoke up "You ran really fast to save them."

This made the three look up at her in surprise. "I did?" Benjamin asked before remembering. "Wait, yeah, I did." He was surprised. "Why was I able to–if I couldn't–?"

"Because you care about us." George grinned at him with a knowing smirk.

"Wait, no, I was just–!"

"You care about us!" Harold added as he also grinned at Benjamin. "You ran and beat up an octopus to save us!"

"No I don't–!" Benjamin tried to protest.

"Do you feel weird about hugging us now?" George asked. "It didn't feel like it!"

"Look, just because I ran to save your skins, it doesn't mean I–!"

"You like them!" Billy playfully teased as Lisa snickered. "You really are a big softie!"

"What is going on?!"

"Yeah, you're a big, cuddly softie!" Lisa giggled. "That's why Edith likes you!"

Benjamin let out a hilarious chain of stammering sounds as the two boys widened their grins before crying out in frustration and he let go of them, dropping the two in the water. "What is with you kids?!"

"We're encouraging!" George smiled when he rose out of the water, though he was very quick to latch back onto the adult at the same time.

"Me too!" Harold pipped up with a smile as he copied George.

"You know, we can try the walking thing tomorrow if you want!" Lisa added. "I want to see more of the world under the ocean!"

"Actually," George looked at Harold and gave him a mischievous grin. "There's one thing we need to do."

* * *

"Hey Jack!" Stacy tossed a rock in her hand as she eyed a young seal lounging by the water as they stood on some large rocks. "You think I can scare it off?!"

"Do it!" Jack grinned. Stacy chuckled and threw the rock, which nearly hit the startled seal, who let out a cry of alarm. "Do it again!" He grinned and Stacy took another rock off the ground. She was about to toss it when–

"Hey leave that seal alone!"

The twins turned to see two children–one particular red haired child was instantly recognizable. "Don't hurt it!" Rose warned as Ethan nervously watched her.

"Well if it isn't Rosebud!" Stacy sarcastically waved. "You know, we were wondering where you ran off to after–"

"If you hurt that seal, the king under the ocean will come after you!" Rose warned. "And if he doesn't–!" Rose picked up a large stick off the ground and held it like a sword. "Then I'll stop you!"

The twins merely laughed at the girl as Ethan shot her a pleading look. "Don't do it!" He begged.

"What a stupid baby!" Jack snorted. "Stacy do it–I want to see if she'll do it!"

"NO!" Rose protested as Stacy grinned and made to throw the rock again–

Suddenly from almost completely out of nowhere, a huge wave surged over and crashed into the twins, knocking them off the rock and down into the sand.

"HOLY–!" Ethan's jaw dropped and even Rose dropped her stick in surprise.

Moments later, they heard screaming and the twins rose up–except that they were covered in gross, slimy looking seaweed with sticks, crabs, trash, and a strange opaque jelly like substance mixed or stuck into it.

"Oh god, what is this?!"

"THERE'S CRABS AND SEA SNOT!"

The younger children watched in amazement as the two screaming bullies ran across the sands while looking like tangled up abominations from the depths as the crabs on them were trying to hold on for dear life.

Elsewhere in the water, George and Harold were laughing their heads off as a certain someone was also watching alongside them with mixed reactions. "That was awesome!" Harold cheered.

"That totally was!" George agreed. "That was fun, wasn't it?" He asked as he turned to face Benjamin.

"Uh," Benjamin was uncomfortable. "I... I don't know–"

"Do you realize what you did?!" Harold had a huge grin. "You helped us prank them!"

With that, Benjamin's face went from uncomfortable to almost shocked.

"Oh come on, it was fun!" George pointed out as Benjamin held his face in his hand. "Admit it, it was fun!"

Benjamin shook his head, but if you looked closely, you could tell that he was trying really hard not to smile and was failing at it.

Unknown to them all, a certain fortune watched the whole thing with a smile before she continued on her way.

* * *

Some time later, Benjamin quietly watched as the children hung out together in the ballroom of the castle under the ocean as Lisa admired a viola that was on display.

"I want to play it!" Lisa looked as if she was trying really hard to resist the desire.

"Can you even?" George asked.

"Yeah, I've taken lessons for years!"

"Wait a minute–how do we not know this?" Harold asked. "In all the time we knew you guys, you never once–"

"I was taking a break." Lisa admitted. "But I want to play it again. Can I?" She turned to Benjamin. He hesitated, then nodded, causing the girl's eyes to light up before she carefully took up the instrument.

Minutes later a song both familiar and not quite was playing from the instrument. While the child performing it still had a ways to go, she was well beyond the beginning stages of learning it. In fact, she was literally the first child to ever freely play an instrument in the castle walls in the last ten years.

Benjamin's eyes drifted from the girl to George and Harold as they quietly listened and were uncharacteristically calm and attentive.

He wasn't entirely sure if that had really been him earlier–it felt like him, but now it was hard to believe. Was he even in control of those actions? But at the same time it felt right. He didn't have that hollow feeling anymore and he felt more grounded than he used to be. He felt something he didn't think he felt in a long time.

"Oh yeah that's right!"

Benjamin snapped out of his thoughts as George and Harold suddenly came up to him. "We almost forgot about this." George smiled as he pulled something out of his bag. "Something to barrow so you won't get bored." He finally took it out and he held out what appeared to be another hand made comic that he and Harold created together.

Benjamin remembered them mentioning this before, but he was still hesitant. "Are... are you really sure you want to give me–?"

"Yes!" Harold grabbed the comic and forced it into Benjamin's hand. "You can wait until later if you want!" He grabbed George's hand and they went back to Lisa and Billy, leaving the adult to stare at the comic. This time there wasn't a bad memory associated with it–this time, a good one could replace it. He then looked at the boys again as they smiled together. This time, that strange little feeling of fondness wasn't from out of now where, but it felt more genuine and more something of his own.

He felt like he needed to try again and this time he felt more sure about himself. He was feeling more optimistic this time.

* * *

The next time they were at the beach, the royal siblings had more clothes for him, to help him feel less embarrassed about himself. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

But this time...

This time George and Harold were right there as he tried to stand up and get off the sand. It was awkward and he felt wobbly, and when he tried to take a step, he almost bent over and collapsed. The next few steps were hardly any better, and at the fifth one, he started to fall–

–Only for the two boys to hurry ahead and try to stop him from falling with all the strength that they could combine together when they pressed against him until he was kneeling over. Yet he was grabbing them by the shoulders while trying to use all his strength to keep from knocking them over and into the sand with him.

They grunted and strained as they tried to help him stay upright as he tried to force himself up and force his legs to support him. He tried to recall how he was able to do this last time as he found himself being guided by the two as they held his hands for the next few steps and he didn't find himself feeling as afraid as before.

He almost barely noticed when they finally let go of his hands and when he was on his own. It took him ten steps before he realized he was on his own–it was still taking his all to stay upright, but this time he didn't feel as if his legs would give out at any second.

He looked down to confirm it and it took a moment to sink in. When it did, he felt a lightness in his heart that he couldn't recall feeling in a long time and he let out a breathless laugh as he rested his forehead in his hand.

When he turned around, he could see the children looking at him, but it was George and Harold who were grinning in delight for him.

The grins turned into gasps of shock when the adult ran up to them and swooped them up into a tight hug as he laughed–possibly the first proper, genuine laugh he had for awhile–and spun them around.

"Whoa careful!" George warned. "You're going to–!"

He ended up tripping and collapsed in the sand while still holding them, but he didn't care. Every part of him missed this feeling and he couldn't stop as he hugged the two as tight as he could.

Both George and Harold simply looked at each other and smiled before hugging Benjamin back. They didn't need to hear a word to know just how happy he was.

This time it didn't feel like their hero was gone or that he just faded in and out of Benjamin. This time it truly felt like he was there with them and he had been there all along.

* * *

 **So... angst and laughs and sweetness, am I right?**

 **You can tell there was some things in the final chapter that might of desired more attention and one of them was the idea of Lisa and Billy getting to go under the ocean as I had teased at.**

 **I also wanted one more chance for things between the boys and Benjamin to smooth out so it wouldn't be weird for them forever. After all, our favorite hero couldn't have been buried away.**

 **Next time: we get to the cute romantic stuff.**


	2. Chapter 2

The moment he had dreaded for so long–the moment that he had been afraid to confront for too long–was finally over with. And now?

Now he was the happiest that he thought he could ever be. It was more than if just a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. It was more than if he could soar above everything.

He allowed Edith to take him by the hand–to show him around the world he had once enjoyed, had once hated, had wanted to be a part of again. He didn't say anything as he listened to her excitedly tell him about how certain things had changed in the town, the new memories she experienced in this place within those ten years, how her life had been in all that time–all the while, he just listened to every word she said with a smile. He had missed her voice and he missed how she would lead him around by the hand–how perfectly their hands seemed to fit together. He was looking around and taking everything in, but his eyes always looked back to her.

She made everything look better. All the sights around him were now better because she was showing him around as if reintroducing him to an old friend.

Whenever Edith looked back, it wasn't just because she was getting animated with talking about things. She wanted to look back and know that there was a face to go with the hand she was holding and that she wasn't dreaming this. That she hadn't lost him forever and that she could see him. She wanted to see Benjamin, and though the smile was modest, his eyes were focused on her and there was a familiar light within them that made her heart race in a good way.

Though it got to a point where they both had to sit down, so they found themselves sitting on a bench. Edith felt like she needed a moment to catch her breath and she smiled as she examined her hand still entwined with his, which felt large as his fingers were curled around hers and yet she also felt a sense of security and comfort.

She was always told that holding hands would be as if fireworks would go off at any moment. Whoever said that was exaggerating–this nice simplicity was fare more comfortable.

"I'm sorry." She nervously chuckled. "I'm just talking your ear off and I'm pulling you everywhere, wearing you out–"

"You aren't." He reassured her. "There's nothing you should be sorry for."

A small silence fell as they watched life go by them. People were just going about their daily lives either to shop or to go somewhere, or to pick something or someone up during what was an ordinary day for them. Nobody was looking back at them, but they weren't exactly focused on anyone else besides each other.

Edith sighed as she lightly rested her head against Benjamin's shoulder, causing the other to look at her. He didn't know how to react as his heart began racing as he felt her against him. He had no intention of going anywhere though (because first off, he was enjoying this and second off it was because the lower half of his body was aching from being pushed beyond the limits he was used to).

"Um," Edith began. "Would you like to see where I live this time?"

"I'd like that." He replied, even if a part of his memories was telling him he had already seen it before.

"We'd have to go back to where Jacob was supposed to pick me and the Lisa and Billy up." She admitted. "But given his luck with certain roadblocks, maybe we won't need to be in a rush."

"Roadblock?"

"Things that get in your way, like pedestrians, other vehicles... maybe a stubborn cow?"

"I mean, if I had a car this wouldn't have been a problem, but I never really needed one. Too much money and I'd be an awful driver anyway."

"They never looked safe. If I had to use one of them, I'd probably crash it into something within ten seconds." He admitted.

* * *

Edith pulled Benjamin along as she lead him around the castle. Once in awhile she'd stop to share a story before hurrying along and she showed him every room possible, from the library to the kitchens where she worked.

During this time, she passed a couple of maids as she held hands with Benjamin. They gave them a startled look and she turned her head to see that they were already gossiping about what they were seeing, but she didn't care.

"Did she actually have a boyfriend this whole time?" One maid whispered. "I never heard her say a word about him."

"Eh, I guess he's ok." Another maid shrugged. "I've seen more attractive guys."

It was a genuine shock to the staff–they never saw Edith with a man before, nor had they ever seen her be this happy. No one recognized the man she was with–it was like he came right out of nowhere. It was hard to tell what kind of status he had from his otherwise average appearance, but he seemed genuinely happy to be with her and had eyes for her and only her over anyone else they passed by.

Benjamin could hardly believe it when she took him to her room in the castle. It was a lot smaller than his room, but it was much more well lived in and she had a lot of personal possessions on display. Yet there was a shyness in her bringing him in here, and had he paid more attention, he would have realized that he was the first man she had ever invited into this room.

He noticed the photographs she had on her wall and the first one to catch his attention was that of a familiar woman laughing beside Edith. "Isn't that your aunt?" He instantly recalled.

"Yes." Edith gave the photo a sad smile. "She really did like you. She had a feeling there was a reason you weren't there, but–" She didn't want to mention that her aunt advised her to not give up and keep looking if there was ever another out there. "It was a couple years back when she passed. Got struck with some sort of sickness that she never recovered from."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He was genuine as he looked at the woman in the photo for a few more seconds before moving onto another one.

He stared at the photograph of Edith with her arms around Lisa and Billy and how they smiled together. The connection she had with the two was far stronger than he realized, especially considering how there was no queen in the kingdom upon the surface that should have been in that photograph. Yet the more he thought about it, they never acted as if she was their mother, but there was a familiarity about the relationship between the royal siblings and their adult friend.

"That was at their school." Edith informed him with a shy smile this time. "It was a fun day that day."

"How–" Benjamin wasn't sure about asking this question, yet he couldn't help but ask it. "I'm surprised you didn't have any kids yourself by now. Any reason?"

"Oh!" Edith nervously rubbed her arm. "Well I–the thing is that I spent so much time around those two that I guess it could have been like raising kids of my own. The king never married, so I guess they had a lot of mom figures to look up to here. Besides I–" she hesitated. "Well, the truth is that, I wanted to find someone first before having a child. I mean adopting is fine and probably a lot more noble!" She quickly corrected herself. "But I don't know if I could raise an infant or a toddler all on my own."

While it was a personal relief to him that Edith hadn't been taken, Benjamin couldn't help but be annoyed–how many men wasted the chance to be with her and give her everything she deserved? Unlike him, she had everything that could have drawn someone to her–a welcoming personality, good looks–and yet–

"Actually, now that I think of it," Edith went to the bookshelf and pulled out a certain photograph album "I still saved this photo." She gently pulled out the photograph she was looking for and handed it to a curious Benjamin.

He recognized it instantly–it was the only photograph ever taken of him with her on the beach, before he agreed to dance with her that one night. He hated how awkward he looked in that photo. Edith on the other hand looked beautiful and she still did right now.

"This is the photo I mentioned to George and Harold when I told them about you." Edith admitted, causing him to look up. "They were curious about you–I didn't realize they already knew you."

"They showed this to me."

"What?"

"They showed this photo to–I mean they showed it to him." He corrected as he thought back. "The other me." How exactly did he not make that connection sooner when he saw this? (Then again, from what he could make out, the other one was someone who had a large heart, but happened to be a much larger idiot) "But he didn't know–he thought it was someone else."

"The boys did take that photo for some reason." Edith recalled. "But later on I compared that photo to their drawing of their hero that they made for me, and I realized you both looked too similar for it to be a coincidence."

"Wait what?!" Benjamin was shocked. "How?! I mean, I guess Harold is ok at his age, but there's no way he'd draw me that perfectly–!"

"Well apparently he did. It was still a child's drawing, but there was enough for me to make the connection."

"Plus... uh... there's also–" Benjamin awkwardly and uncomfortably pointed to his toupee. "I don't think you knew that I was–"

"I had a feeling that wasn't natural." Edith admitted. "But it doesn't bother me–I think you look cute either way–" She realized what she was saying and blushed a few shades of red as Benjamin himself also blushed in surprise. "Er–" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean–that–yeah. Uh, anyway–" She tried to change the subject. "If you want, you could always stay over here... if you ever want an escape and have time to be up here." Edith added. "And maybe sleep over... or something." She was feeling increasingly warm and awkward the more she was digging herself deeper into this.

Benjamin looked around the room. "That might not be a good idea. I can't wear this thing all the time–" He showed her the bracelet "–And I doubt you'd have a bathtub that could hold all of me."

"Oh drat." Edith realized her mistake. "Well, what if you stayed in here and just took it off for the night?"

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fit–" Benjamin made the mistake of taking the bracelet off to test it out and make a point. When he realized just what he did, he pulled a hilariously horrified expression of eyes that nearly popped out of his skull and eyebrows that early reached his toupee. "Oh sh–!"

Outside the bedroom, a loud commotion of things crashing mixed with startled cries could be heard in the hallway, as was the case with Marietta who was passing by and stared at the door in confusion.

"Is everything alright in there?!" She went to the door and knocked on it. "Edith?!"

"DON'T COME IN! DON'T COME IN!" Edith cried out through the door. "JUST–DON'T, OK?!"

"What is going on in there?!"

"JUST GET HER TO LEAVE!" A panicky male voice Marietta had never heard before yelled through the door.

"PLEASE LEAVE!" Edith pleaded.

Marietta stared at the door in confusion before understanding dawned on her. She hurried away from the door, but not without giving it a knowing smirk.

"Oh thank God, she's gone!" Edith sighed in relief as she laid on the floor with Benjamin protectively hugging her against him while a few things were scattered throughout her room, with his altered form (which suffered a bit of a beating from one now very well destroyed desk) contorted into a very uncomfortable position as it just barely fit her room.

He sighed and rested his head against her hair. "You're ok, right?"

"Yeah, but what about you?"

"Fine , but I'm pretty sure I owe you a new desk."

* * *

Finally Edith took Benjamin to the huge ballroom of the castle.

"This is one of my favorite places in this whole building." She smiled as she twirled around and stopped to look up at the chandelier. "There's been so many dances here and they always looked like fun. And it has a great view of the ocean." She smiled as she looked towards the large windows where the sun was a few hours away from setting. "It's probably one of the best views I've ever seen."

"So you never actually went to one." Edith turned her head to see Benjamin giving her a perplexed look. "Why? I mean they'd let you, wouldn't they?"

"Well, I could... but," Edith nonchalantly shrugged. "There wasn't anyone I could go with. Not a friend or even–well, you know." She looked around the room. "Plus it's not easy to find a ball gown that's my size–they're too pricy to wear for one night or two." She tried to crack a smile, but it didn't work.

"I guess we're almost in the same boat. Anything that involved dancing in the last ten years–I never really liked it, especially when I had no real reason to. Actually I hated whenever I had to let dances happen back home. I was always forced to be there for about ten minutes and then I left as soon as I got the chance."

"Why?"

"Because it wouldn't have been the same without you." He admitted not just to her but to himself. "It was hard to forget that one night with you... and I never really liked seeing everyone else having fun. You were literally the last person I ever danced with."

"Oh," Edith understood. "I see..."

Benjamin didn't even need to feel the urgings within from one side of his heart as he walked up to her–he was wanting to try to erase that part of that past. "Well–I mean, did you at least get to dance in here?"

"No–well, maybe on my own–" Edith stopped as she saw him carefully, yet shyly hold a hand out. Understanding quickly dawned on her and she went to accept it. Carefully Benjamin drew her in and held her close before he lead her in a small slow shuffle.

This felt more than familiar to her. The way he was holding her, their placements–everything felt wonderfully familiar.

He thought he was going to mess up–it was one thing to try to remember to walk but it was another when it had truly been ten years since he danced. He thought he was going to fall over, but it was as if he was staying perfectly in position within water, with the waves to rock him gently back and forth, except this time it was from within himself.

Moments passed and nothing happened as they quietly danced, until Edith picked up on faint humming and she looked up at Benjamin to see him humming a very familiar song with his eyes closed.

"That's the song we danced to that night–you remembered it after all this time?"

"It's hard to forget it." He admitted.

"He told me he remembered that song." Edith recalled something. "When I heard this song being played, I was trying to pretend I was dancing with someone–he said he was there with me–"

"–It didn't look right that you were dancing alone. He– _I_ wanted so badly to pretend I could dance with you–" He that memory with all his heart as if it were fully his own and not something that was sewn right into his memories. "That's how I realized I knew you once. You looked so happy in that memory." Even when recalling the memory in question, there wasn't any of that bitter pain he associated it with anymore. Instead, it was a memory that truly reminded him of why he adored her.

Edith smiled and rested her head against his chest as she moved closer to him. "You were looking out for me all this time. You were close by and I didn't even know it."

"It wasn't exactly me though–"

"Doesn't matter–if he was a part of you, then he was still you."

Slowly his arms began to wrap around her until he was able to hold her further against him.

"You have no idea how much I missed you." She continued. "Your laugh, the way you sing when you think no one is hearing–your smile when you're so excited about something."

Benjamin's only response was to rest his cheek against her hair as he once again rested a hand on her head and then carefully wove his fingers though the strands. How often had he wished for these simple moments? How many times did he regret not doing things like this before trying to force it down with a stone cold heart and an angry scowl?

He slowly moved away from her a bit, but enough that he was still holding her close. "Hmm?" Edith asked as she looked at him with those eyes that he could never forget no matter how hard he had tried.

Slowly–experimentally–he reached out to carefully cup one side of her face with one hand. His heart rate was racing in a way that was both terrifying and enjoyable. He couldn't help but give her an incredibly nervous smile and started leaning in–

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!"

Both of them snapped back to reality as they jolted at the sound of the voice and turned to see a middle aged woman in glasses glare at them from the entrance. Edith was dismayed, though Benjamin instantly looked as if it was taking his all not to unleash an angry storm upon the one who had the audacity to interrupt this private moment and instantly earn a high spot on the list of those he despised.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING!" Ms. Gambino snapped at Edith as she stormed up to her and Benjamin. "AND HERE I FIND YOU SLACKING OFF AND PLAYING CINDERELLA IN HERE!"

"Oh no," Edith moaned as she let go of Benjamin. "Wait a minute, I–no wait." Edith remembered and faced the head of the staff. "His Majesty gave me the day off earlier. You can ask him yourself–"

"Oh, and why is that?!" Ms. Gambino demanded. "Don't think I forgot about what happened with your moment of forgetfulness and sending those two boys off to fix your mistake when I wanted them to work here! Did you do it again–?!"

"This has nothing to do with that! And to be honest I've never asked for a day off unless it was an emergency or if I was sick!" Edith was growing frustrated. "I'm certain I've done enough to earn at least one day off!" Yet unknown to her, an already annoyed Benjamin was feeling a certain memory or two getting oh so casually pushed into the front of his mind and once he put things together, he went from incredibly annoyed to more-than-mad at the woman as his fists began to tighten up.

"Oh yeah?! And how often have you messed up on your job by forgetting or doing things behind my back–?!"

"SHE SAID SHE WAS GIVEN A BREAK, OK LADY?!" Benjamin finally snapped and allowed his anger to take over. It was so unexpected that it scared both women, but especially the older woman. "SO LEAVE HER ALONE AND TAKE YOUR CRABBY MOUTH ELSEWHERE!"

"Wh–wha–who the heck are–?! How dare you!" Ms. Gambino quickly recovered and snapped back. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around–?!"

"I'M SOMEONE WHOSE TELLING YOU TO GET LOST AND QUIT BOTHERING EDITH! YOU'RE ALREADY GETTING ON MY BAD SIDE TODAY–!"

"Oh and I suppose you're her reason why she's taking the day off?! Are you the boyfriend or–?!"

"AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM!" He yelled as he quickly wrapped an arm around Edith. "AND IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO LEAVE, THEN WE'RE SURE AS HECK GOING TO DITCH YOU SO THAT YOU CAN GO BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE!" And with that, he quickly lead her away as the older woman scowled at them.

Once they were out of the room and were a good distance away, Edith concernedly looked at Benjamin. He still retained an all too familiar scowl of anger, but then his face turned to shock and he slapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh... oh god–what did I just say?" He asked himself as his voice began to raise in panic. "Did I just actually tell her that I'm your–?!" He held his face in hands. "Oh god, did I just mess up?!"

"Are you alright?" Edith asked in concern.

"I don't know! I wasn't–!" Benjamin was still panicky. "I was just mad at her for how she was treating you! But she also interrupted us and–!" He let out a scared little laugh. "I mean, you don't mind, do you?!"

"Hey, it's no problem, we can go elsewhere like you said." Edith tried to reassure him as she lead him away.

He calmed down after awhile before huffing "If she knew who I was, she would have kept her mouth shut. If this was back home, this would have been a completely different story." It was highly tempting to reveal his identity to the woman, just to give her a huge scare big enough for her to quit bothering Edith.

"Well, she's already been punished if it makes you feel any better." Edith chuckled. "On the morning of the festival, her alarm was set off at the wrong time and someone put something in her clothes to make her itch like crazy. It was pretty funny, even if she did suffer a bit." Edith smirked. "Not to mention someone changed her sign–"

"Figures."

"Huh?"

"I know who did it. There's no one else who would have done it." That woman looked like someone George and Harold would have gladly pranked if given the chance. He had way too much experience being on the receiving end of similar pranks for a number of years to know it was them.

Yet for once he wished he saw that. What startled him (and in some ways horrified him) was that he was suddenly open to encouraging the two to do it again if the woman was stupid enough to yell at Edith like that or interrupt his time with her. Heck, he was ready to thank them the next time they crossed paths!

"Well you aren't going to get them in trouble are you?" Edith smiled before tugging at his hand. "Come on, we still have more to see."

Benjamin was about to agree when he saw the sky from outside and realized how close it was to sunset. "Uh, actually..." He reluctantly began. "The thing is... I didn't know how long I would have up here."

"You need to go now?" Edith felt her heart sink. Was he really on a time limit that she was unaware of?

"I don't want to, it's just–!" Benjamin sighed. "It'd take awhile to get back to the ocean and I don't know how long this'll last–" He held up the bracelet for emphasis.

"Hey, it's ok." Edith squeezed his hand. "But could you let me come with you?"

* * *

Down on the beach in a certain secret cove, Edith had been forced to turn around when Benjamin changed out of his clothes and hid them carefully before reaching for the sash to wear across his body in their place. It was only when he knew that he was half submerged in the cold water that he could dare to take the bracelet off.

The sharp cry of pain was what made Edith finally turn around to see him tensed up in pain and discomfort before he ended up biting down on the sash.

"Benjamin?!" Edith hurried over to the rocks and almost jumped into the water, but then he threw himself at one of them and tightened his hold on it, with his nails practically digging into the surface. He was like that for what felt like forever and she was afraid that he was more than taking his all to hide what she couldn't see on the surface of things.

Finally it was over with and he could relax, but he didn't dare look up at her. "Does it hurt?" He looked up to see Edith's concerned eyes. "Does it always have to hurt you?" She asked quietly.

He let out a sigh and averted his eyes. "Yeah... yeah it always hurts." He admitted. "It never stops, and it's worse because of–" He pointed to his mouth and forced a smile that revealed that the once human-like teeth now looked jagged, sharp and terrible.

Edith had no clue what to say, other than that it broke her heart. To think that every time he had changed gave him so much physical pain–every time he went to see her, he had to do that to himself–she couldn't imagine how much his body had to endure–

Christ, did that mean the boys underwent this too?! They didn't deserve that pain either–not on their small young bodies! None of them deserved this!

"I'm so sorry." Her voice became quiet. "You shouldn't have to go through that all the time to be with me. That's not fair for you."

He remained silent before pushing himself away from the rocks. When she realized what he was doing, she worried that she said the wrong thing and panicked. "Wait!" She scrambled to stand up. "Benjamin, wait!" She took the rose out of her hair and took her shoes off and flung them over her shoulder before she ran. Benjamin snapped out of it and watched in surprise as she jumped off the rocks and threw herself into the cold water.

Even as she rose up, she made to swim to him. Edith panted as she swam without stopping. When she reached him, she flung her arms around his neck and held tight as she crashed her lips onto his before he could do or say anything. He was almost surprised by it, but he gave in and returned the kiss as he carefully hugged her–hands carefully pressed against her back as he held her close to him.

A few more moments (and an oddly familiar sensation in her face and body that she felt only once before under scarier circumstances) passed before Edith finally parted from him and could look him in the eyes. "You've seen my world." She began as she cupped one of his cheeks with her hand. "Please let me see yours."

Benjamin paused before a smile broke out. "Alright then."

Then without warning, he hugged her against him and dunked her under the water as fast as he could. The suddenness of it all made her cry out before she bursted out laughing.

"You aren't going to warn me?!" She laughed as she placed a hand on her head and shook it. "You're that ready to–?! Eek!" She squeaked and jolted when she felt him kiss her on the neck, which suddenly became far more ticklish to her than she was expecting. "What are you doing?!" She giggled, causing him to laugh as he rose her out of the water again. "Oh my gosh, stop!" She laughed. "Stop!" She almost shrieked when he kissed her neck again.

"Careful with what you ask for, or you might get it!" Benjamin teased her before falling backwards into the water with her shrieking with laughter until there was complete silence.

Meanwhile, a certain pair of boys had only recently approached the area and when they saw what had been going on, they stopped and stared at the now still waters.

"Uh, we better get out of here." Harold realized how close they were to invading a private moment as he felt himself walk backwards away from the waters.

"Yeah, we should do that." George admitted as they both quickly left the area. "I value my life too much to stay any longer."

* * *

Edith calmed down as she finally looked at Benjamin, who loosened his hold on her a bit. "Well, you're being rather playful all of a..." Her voice trailed off as she realized where she was.

She was underwater again.

She was breathing underwater once more. In and out, she was breathing within the water as if she were no longer human. She had been doing so for almost a minute. But more importantly–"I'm..." She held her hand to her throat. "I'm... talking underwater. I'm actually talking underwater."

It wasn't just that though. The last time this had happened, there was too much chaos to fully enjoy it. This time she could look up in wonder to see the sun's final rays reflecting off the surface, causing it to shimmer above her. She no longer had mere seconds to take it in–no she had almost all the time she could ever ask for to look around her. The once freezing cold water no longer made her body shiver, but instead it felt cool, pleasant and almost comforting. It was as if the ocean itself had now become a place where she could feel completely safe and protected.

It always looked so beautiful from above, but down below it was beautiful in a way she never expected it to be.

She smiled. "You know, I thought it was just a fairytale that if a merfolk kissed you, you could breathe underwater. I didn't think that could ever happen to me... let alone someone like me." She made to slowly let go of him and move away to get a better look.

"Wait."

She stopped and turned her head back.

"Please... just..." Benjamin backed away from her a little, but he still kept his hold on her hand until he was as far away as he could be without letting go.

He wanted a chance to see her like this again–he never imagined how even more beautiful she could be under the water and he wanted to see it again. The light from the slowly fading sun illuminated her and made her hair glow as it gently swayed around her head as her dress gently flared up around her legs. Wherever the fabric wasn't covered by the flower print, the white background almost seemed to pop out from the blueness behind her. The same blue of the waters made her blue eyes stand out even more, but not even the ocean itself could still compare to their hue.

The sight of her made his heart race in a way that was good and felt right. It was so much better, now that he knew why he loved her and could feel that love again. He remembered why he didn't want to stop looking at her because nothing else compared to her. He could just stare at her forever, even if everything around him crumbled and faded away.

"What?" She asked.

"I just want to see you." Was all he could say, because it would be completely impossible to explain it to her. He let out a sigh of regret and shook his head. "What I'm seeing is probably a lot better than what you're seeing. I know I'm not handsome–"

Edith frowned. "Hey, don't say that." She tugged at his hand and pulled herself towards him. Slowly she reached out and carefully cupped his face with her hands. She stared at him as he looked at her and kept his mouth as firmly shut as possible. "It doesn't matter how you look or change–I'm still going to love that funny, sweet, determined person that's on the inside that I met all those years ago." She gently rubbed the pads of the thumbs upon his cheeks before one hand slowly trailed down until she had it against his chest, right where his heart was (she could feel him take a sharp breath and his body rose against her hand). "Just please don't be afraid to show yourself to me more often."

He carefully rested a hand over the one was that was still on his face and took in her touch as long as he could as he thought about her words.

She looked down to see the tail, where the apparent similarities ended between him and her. It was almost easy to forget about it in that moment and it made her curious. "Uh," She shyly began. "Um... is it... is it ok if I... if I can touch your–?"

Benjamin felt his face grow warm at the thought of it–he knew what she was asking. "Uh, I–I mean I mind–if you really want to, but–I–just–sure? Wait!" He stopped her as she drew her hand away from him. "I–just don't–I mean–not the front side, ok?!" He stammered.

Edith nodded in understanding before she slowly moved down, closer to his navel.

She wasn't expecting the numerous scaring under his navel that split down both sides of his halves, and they looked painful on first glance, as if his skin bursted apart. Slowly her fingers reached out before touching one in particular, and she could feel his stomach expand as he took a breath upon feeling her touch. Slowly her finger traced the rip in the flesh before she let all of her fingers trace down his body to feel the gradual change of soft human flesh to something that felt a bit firmer, but still a lot softer than what she was expecting. The lower half of his body still felt like skin, but not quite at the same time, and it was not as slippery as she had anticipated.

Slowly she began to move her hand to his side, around where his hip area was–her finger tips lightly touching against him the whole way. As she did, her eyes began to roam and she began to realize that the scarring continued down the tail. There was some very noticeable ones scattered across him that were so deep and so jagged that she could only imagine how agonizing they must have been when he first received them. (How did she not notice them before? Suddenly she began to realize that there had been more to his insecurities than she had considered). Her hand almost went for them, but she stopped herself in time as she journeyed behind him.

Her hands continued to roam upon the dorsal fin and vertebrae and he never once stopped her (actually he was closing his eyes and silently taking in the physical contact–practically leaning into it). Her eyes noticed something and she looked up to see small streaks of faint white scar tissue on a section of his back that made her take in a sharp breath of air. (Or was it water? She had no clue.)

There was so much about him that she still didn't know.

Something in her made her stop and she ended up shooting her arms under his arms before she crossed them against his chest as best as she could and hugged him close to her. This made him snap out of his trace. "Edith?"

She knew he wouldn't flat out tell her the story behind every scar he endured–she didn't want him to relive anything, no matter how curious she was. "I just–" She rested her head into his shoulder. "I want to give you things to be happy about." She settled on saying and thought for a moment. "How long do I have down here?"

"Three days."

"Three days?!" She squeaked as she raised her head up. "So this isn't permanent?"

"If I kept kissing you every day then I–" He felt his face grow warm at the thought that such a thing could now indeed be a reality. "Well there's still a limit, but it's a lot longer with me compared to anyone else."

"Wow, I guess I'm really lucky then!" She let out a laugh. "I get kissed by the king under the ocean and it's not going to stop any time soon." She shook her head. "But seriously, if what you say is true, then I can stay with you for a bit longer."

"Are you sure?" He turned around, forcing her to let go of him. "Don't you have to work tomorrow or–?"

"No, I don't work tomorrow. Besides," She gave him a huge smile as she hugged him again. "I'd rather spend the rest of this day with you."

* * *

Once again, he just wanted to quietly watch her. This time he wanted to see her take everything in with child-like awe at the world below. He had to hold onto her whenever they moved elsewhere–he'd easily out-swim her if she tried to swim on her own. She had no complaints against this and practically curled into him as he held her against him with one arm.

Yet over time, this made him realize that there was something pressing up against him in his sash–there was something hidden within it besides the bracelet.

At one point, he stopped to let her admire a series of familiar red flowers that grew upon the coral and rocks. She was able to reach them on her own, despite that the skirt of her dress kept getting caught between her legs and he watched as she floated just inches above the sands to gently touch the swaying red petals of the nearest red flower. He made sure he would look away as fast as possible if that skirt went up too high for his liking (if someone needed to have their dignity intact, it was better for it to be her).

It was at this point that he took out the object that he felt and when he opened his hand, he was startled to see a bracelet similar to his own, but with red beads. He only brought out two similar bracelets, but they were child sized. How–

His question was answered when it came to him–the boys. They must have snuck it in there when he wasn't looking. How they managed to find it in the first place was almost insane.

But he knew what the bracelet meant and he had a feeling he knew why it was given to him. They were trying to tell him something with it.

He looked up to see Edith smiling as some dolphins swam nearby. Her eyes shone with glee as she waved to them and they let out a happy noise in return.

If he gave this to her, she would have to endure so much pain both internal and external.

But she would not be allowed the same secrecy he had when he came to her world. It would look highly suspicious and bring future trouble if a human was caught with him.

Edith sighed in contentment as she allowed herself to fall backward and float in the water. She opened her eyes to see the dying light above and smiled at it.

"Uh,"

She moved her head to see Benjamin holding his hands behind his back while giving her a nervous look. She twisted herself upright as she asked "Yes?"

He took a deep breath and moved his hands forward to reveal one of the red flowers as well as the red bracelet.

"What is–?" Edith was puzzled at the sight of it.

"If you wear this, you'll become like one of us." He admitted. "I mean, you don't have to, but if I take you to where me and the others live, you'll want to hide the fact that your human and I don't want a lot of people to know about that. But if I do, it's going to hurt you and I–" he winced and took a deep breath. "I don't want that. I don't want you to go through it."

Edith looked from him to the bracelet and thought for a few quiet moments. Without even saying a word, she reached out to take it and examined it for a few seconds with a quiet determination.

"If it means I can be with you more often, I'll take it."

She slipped it on before Benjamin could stop her.

The moment he saw her take a sharp breath and her face tensed up, Benjamin rushed over and held her tight while still managing to hold onto the flower. He could hear her moaning and grunting into his chest as he held her tight and cradled her head. His thick fingers wove though her hair and kept her steady as her grip tightened on him–nails sharply digging into his flesh–yet he didn't care.

Finally it was over the moment she relaxed in his hold.

As he moved to give her some room, his eyes caught a flash of sunset pink and sapphire blue underneath her, but they were still focused on her face. He didn't relax until he saw her open her eyes and hesitate before giving him a small smile.

He sighed in relief before realizing he still had the flower. He silently moved her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her right ear before placing the flower there. She let out a small chuckle and he moved in to kiss her and hold her close to him once more. He didn't think he could ever get enough of such small, yet wonderful moments like this one.

He felt a confident, happy optimism that he never felt in awhile. He felt that this was all going to work out one way or another and whatever would come his way, he could face it with her now.

* * *

 **Because I'm a sappy romantic and I like cute stuff like this.**

 **Well, I said it would be a two shot and I kept my word. Now there's the sequel to the Tangled AU that I need to get started on. I said that I aimed to start it by late January to early February. I also said that there would be a delay if season 2 started up around that time. I'm going to try to do what I can and get chapter 1 done before February 8.**


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